By Rich Bowden:

An opinion poll carried out by Auspoll on behalf of the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and WWF-Australia has found overwhelming support for more government spending on the environment, according to a WWF media release.

The poll, which consisted of a sample of 2,200 voters, found 3 out of 4 people supported a lifting of spending on the environment from its current one percent. The poll showed how important voters thought the environment was in the federal election campaign yet neither major party had seriously tackled the issue, said  ACF executive director Don Henry to AAP.

“Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott aren’t taking climate change seriously but Australian voters think they should be,” he said.

ACF’s Healthy Ecosystems Program Manager Paul Sinclair called on political parties to outline a better plan for spending on the country’s environment.

“We need a well-funded national plan to protect our forests, rivers, wetlands and oceans, but neither of the major political parties has yet shown it has such a plan,” he said.

With the poll also showing 88 percent of respondents were concerned over the lack of leadership shown by the major parties.

“With only two weeks left in this election campaign, there is still a huge opportunity for Australia’s parties to show leadership on environmental issues,” said Dr Gilly Llewellyn, WWF-Australia’s Manager of Conservation.

“The public is crying out for our political leaders to stand up and protect our environment.”

Tags: acf poll, election environment, election spending poll, spending on environment, wwf australia poll